Molded heat transfer component having vapor chamber and molding method thereof

ABSTRACT

A molding method is provided. The method includes steps of: providing a mold having a male mold forming a column and a female mold forming a cavity; multiple ribs extending along a longitudinal direction of the column are formed on the column; inserting the male mold into the female mold to close the mold to make the column inserted in and separated from an inner surface of the cavity; filling a molten plastic material mixed with metal particles into the cavity so as to make the material fill a space between the column and the cavity; forming a molded heat transfer component covering the column by the solidified plastic material; taking out the molded heat transfer component with the column along the longitudinal direction of the column from the cavity; and separating the molded heat transfer component from the column along the longitudinal direction of the column.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to modified heat transfer components, particularly to a method for molding a heat transfer component having a vapor chamber and a heat transfer component made by the method. The molding method can form a one-piece heat transfer component with a vapor chamber by molding.

Related Art

Efficiency of heat transfer of phase change heat transfer components is much higher than conventional conductive, convective or radiative heat transfer components. In common materials for heat transfer, heat transfer coefficients of aluminum, copper, and graphite are about 200 W/(mK), 200 W/(mK) and 1500 W/(mK), respectively. However, a heat transfer coefficient of a phase change heat transfer component can reach 25000 W/(mK). As a result, phase change heat transfer components are widely applied in current cooling systems of electronic devices. A phase change heat transfer component utilizes vaporization of liquid working fluid to carry away a large amount of heat.

Current phase change heat transfer components mainly have two types of vapor chamber and heat pipe. Generally, their manufacturing process is to form a metal tube or chamber by molding first, then assemble a wick structure onto an inner wall of the metal tube or chamber, and finally degas the metal tube or chamber and inject a working fluid and then seal up it. When an end of a heat transfer component is heated, the working fluid therein will be vaporized to flow in the metal tube or chamber to another end of the heat transfer component and flow back by the wick structure after the vaporized working fluid is cooled down to condense. A wick structure is usually fastened by sintering. Thus, current vapor change heat transfer components are very complicated in manufacturing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a method for molding a heat transfer component having a vapor chamber and a heat transfer component made by the method. The forming method can form a one-piece heat transfer component with a vapor chamber by molding.

The invention provides a method for molding a heat transfer component having a vapor chamber, which includes steps of: providing a mold having a male mold forming a column and a female mold forming a cavity, wherein multiple ribs extending along a longitudinal direction of the column are formed on a surface of the column; inserting the male mold into the female mold to close the mold to make the column inserted into the cavity and be out of contact with an inner surface of the cavity; filling a molten plastic material mixed with metal particles into the cavity so as to make the material fill a space between the column and the inner surface of the cavity; forming a molded heat transfer component covering the column by the solidified plastic material; taking out the molded heat transfer component with the column along the longitudinal direction of the column from the cavity; and separating the molded heat transfer component from the column along the longitudinal direction of the column. The molded heat transfer component includes a body. A vaper chamber is formed in the body by molding of the column. The vapor chamber has an opening. An inner wall of the vapor chamber is formed with a grooved wick structure with grooves which are perpendicular to the opening and parallel to each other by the ribs.

In the method of the invention, an inner surface of the cavity is formed with slots, the molded heat transfer component is formed with fins by the slots, and the fins are parallel to each other and to the grooved wick structure. A surface of the column is coated with a coating layer made of graphite material or diamond. The graphite material is graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules or the column is made of graphite material.

In the method of the invention, the plastic material is mixed with graphite material. The graphite material is graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules.

The method of the invention further comprises steps of sintering the metal particles after removing the solidified plastic material in the molded heat transfer component.

The method of the invention further comprises steps of sealing up the opening after injecting a working fluid into the vapor chamber.

In the method of the invention, the male mold is formed with multiple columns, and multiple vapor chambers are formed in the body by the columns.

In the method of the invention, both the female mold and the male mold are slightly loosened when filling the plastic material, and then tightly close the female mold and the male mold to when the plastic material has been filled into the space between the column and the inner surface of the cavity.

The invention also provides a molded heat transfer component having a vapor chamber, which includes a body, made of metal in one piece, having a vapor chamber with an opening, and an inner wall of the vapor chamber being formed with a grooved wick structure with grooves which are perpendicular to the opening and parallel to each other by the ribs.

In the molded heat transfer component of the invention, a surface of the body is formed with fins, and the fins are parallel to each other and to the grooved wick structure.

In the molded heat transfer component of the invention, the opening is provided with a cap. The vapor chamber is injected with a working fluid.

In the molded heat transfer component of the invention, the body is embedded with distributed graphite material. A surface of the body is embedded with distributed graphite material. The graphite material is graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules.

In the molded heat transfer component of the invention, the body is formed with multiple vapor chambers, and each of the vapor chambers is of a tubular shape.

In sum, a molded heat transfer component with a vapor chamber in one piece can be formed by the method for molding a heat transfer component having a vapor chamber of the invention. It is not required to assemble a wick stricture onto the vapor chamber as conventional manufacturing methods. The invention can effectively reduce manufacturing costs and shorten manufacturing time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the method for molding a heat transfer component having a vapor chamber of the invention;

FIGS. 2-4 are schematic views showing the steps of the method for molding a heat transfer component having a vapor chamber of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the heat transfer component having a vapor chamber of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of the heat transfer component having a vapor chamber of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section view of the heat transfer component having a vapor chamber of the invention;

FIGS. 8-13 are schematic views showing various modificative modes of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIGS. 1-3. A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a method for molding a heat transfer component 300 having a vapor chamber 320. In particular, the invention uses the metal injection molding (MIM) to manufacture a heat transfer component 300 having a vapor chamber 320. The method for molding a heat transfer component 300 having a vapor chamber 320 includes steps of:

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2. In step a, provide a mold 10. In detail, the mold 10 includes a male mold 200 and a female mold 100. The male and female molds 200, 100 can be correspondingly assembled. The female mold 100 is formed with a cavity 101. Preferably, an inner surface of the cavity 101 is smooth. The male mold 200 is formed with at least one column 210. Multiple ribs 211 extending along a longitudinal direction of the column 210 are formed on a surface of the column 210. In this embodiment, preferably, a single column 210 is formed on the male mold 200 and the column 210 is flat in shape, but not limited to these, for example, the male mold 200 may also be formed with multiple parallelly-arranged columns 210 and the columns 210 may be cylindrical in shape as shown in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, a surface of the column 210 is coated with a coating layer 212 made of graphite or diamond to reduce roughness of the surface of the column 210. Further, because of high hardness of graphite or diamond, heights of the ribs 211 can be very short. The ribs 211 may be much less than the column 210 in scale. In detail, graphite or diamond can be coated on the column 210 as shown in FIG. 8 or the column 210 can be made of graphite or diamond. The graphite material may be graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules (CNC).

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 3. In step b, insert the male mold 200 into the female mold 100 to close the mold 10 to make the column 210 inserted into the cavity 101 and be out of contact with an inner surface of the cavity 101.

In step c, fill a molten plastic material 20 mixed with metal particles into the cavity 101 so as to make the plastic material 20 fill a space between the column 210 and the inner surface of the cavity 101. The plastic material 20 can be selectively mixed with graphite material. The graphite material may be graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules (CNC). Preferably, both the female mold 100 and the male mold 200 are slightly loosened to make the plastic material easy to flow into the cavity 101 when filling the plastic material 20, and then tightly close the female mold 100 and the male mold 200 to make the plastic material 20 molded to form a shape when the plastic material 20 has been filled into the space between the column 210 and the inner surface of the cavity 101.

In step d, wait for solidification of the plastic material 20 to form a green part of a molded heat transfer component 300 covering the column 210. In detail, the molded heat transfer component 300 formed by steps a-d is composed of the plastic material 20 and metal particles. When the plastic material 20 is mixed with graphite material, the graphite material is also be distributed in the molded heat transfer component 300. The molded heat transfer component 300 includes a body 310. A vaper chamber 320 is formed in the body 310 by molding of the column 210. The vapor chamber 320 has an opening 321. An inner wall of the vapor chamber 320 is formed with a grooved wick structure 330 with grooves which are perpendicular to the opening 321 and parallel to each other by the ribs 211. Also, the ribs 211 with tiny size can form the grooved wick structure 330 with tiny size.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 4-6. In step e, take out the molded heat transfer component 300 with the column 210 along the longitudinal direction of the column 210 from the cavity 101. The inner surface of the cavity 101 is smooth and an outer surface of the column 210 substantially appears rough because of the ribs 211. When the male mold 200 is removed from the female mold 100, the friction between the molded heat transfer component 300 and the male mold 200 is greater than the friction between the female mold 100 and the molded heat transfer component 300. As a result, the column 210 can be removed from cavity 101 with the molded heat transfer component 300.

In step f, separate the molded heat transfer component 300 from the column 210 along the longitudinal direction of the column 210. Because the ribs 211 are parallel, the grooved wick structure 330 can escape from the molded heat transfer component 300 while the molded heat transfer component 300 is being longitudinally moved along the column 210. When the male mold 200 is formed with multiple columns 210 as shown in FIG. 11, the columns 210 are parallel, so they can escape from the molded heat transfer component 300 while the molded heat transfer component 300 is being moved along a longitudinal direction of the columns 210. Multiple vapor chambers 320 are formed in the body 310 of the molded heat transfer component 300 by the columns. The vapor chambers 320 are parallel and each of them is of a tubular shape.

Preferably, the method for molding a heat transfer component 300 having a vapor chamber 320 further includes following steps:

In step g, sinter the metal particles after removing the solidified plastic material 20 in the molded heat transfer component 300.

Please refer to FIG. 7. In step h, seal up the opening 321 after injecting a working fluid 360 into the vapor chamber 320.

Please refer to FIGS. 12 and 13. Preferably, an inner surface of the cavity 101 may be formed with slots 102. In detail, the slot 102 is much greater than the rib 211 in scale. In comparison with the outer surface of the column 210, inner surfaces of the slots 102 may be deemed smooth. The slots 102 parallelly extend along the longitudinal direction of the column 210. The molded heat transfer component 300 is formed with fins 340 by the slots 102. The fins 340 are parallel to each other and to the grooved wick structure 330. Shapes of the slots 102 depend upon requirements of shapes of the fins 340. The slots 102 are parallel so they can escape from the cavity 101 along the longitudinal direction of the column 210 when the molded heat transfer component 300 is being escaped from the cavity 101 along the longitudinal direction of the column 210.

Please refer to FIGS. 5 and 6. A molded heat transfer component 300 can be made by the above method. In this embodiment, the molded heat transfer component 300 with a vapor chamber 320 includes a body 310 which is made of metal in one piece. A vaper chamber 320 is formed in the body 310. The vapor chamber 320 has an opening 321. An inner wall of the vapor chamber 320 is formed with a grooved wick structure 330 with grooves which are perpendicular to the opening 321 and parallel to each other. An outer surface of the body 310 is formed with fins 340 which are parallel to each other and to the grooved wick structure 330. The opening 321 is provided with a cap 350. The vapor chamber 320 is injected with a working fluid 360. A surface of the body 310 is embedded with distributed graphite material. Preferably, the inside of the body 310 is also embedded with graphite material. The graphite material may be graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules. Because graphite material has hydrophobicity, the graphite material distributed in the inner surface of the vapor chamber 320 can accelerate flow speed of the working fluid 360. Also, graphite material has great thermal radiativity, so it can rapidly transfer heat by thermal radiation.

Please refer to FIGS. 10 and 11. In this embodiment, multiple vapor chambers 320 are formed in the body 310. The vapor chambers 320 are parallel and each of them is of a tubular shape.

The molded heat transfer component 300 can be formed with fins 340 which are parallel to each other and to the grooved wick structure 330.

The molded heat transfer component 300 with a vapor chamber 320 in one piece can be formed by the method for molding a heat transfer component 300 having a vapor chamber 320. Thus, it is not required to assemble a wick stricture onto the vapor chamber 320 as conventional manufacturing methods. The invention can effectively reduce manufacturing costs and shorten manufacturing time.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for molding a heat transfer component having a vapor chamber, comprising: a) providing a mold having a male mold formed with a column and a female mold formed with a cavity, wherein multiple ribs extending along a longitudinal direction of the column are formed on a surface of the column; b) inserting the male mold into the female mold to close the mold to make the column inserted into the cavity and be out of contact with an inner surface of the cavity; c) filling a molten plastic material mixed with metal particles into the cavity so as to make the material fill a space between the column and the inner surface of the cavity; d) waiting for solidification of the plastic material to form a molded heat transfer component covering the column by the solidified plastic material; e) taking out the molded heat transfer component with the column along the longitudinal direction of the column from the cavity; and f) separating the molded heat transfer component from the column along the longitudinal direction of the column; wherein the molded heat transfer component includes a body, a vaper chamber is formed in the body by molding of the column, the vapor chamber has an opening, an inner wall of the vapor chamber is formed with a grooved wick structure with grooves which are perpendicular to the opening and parallel to each other by the ribs.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the cavity is formed with slots, the molded heat transfer component is formed with fins by the slots, and the fins are parallel to each other and to the grooved wick structure.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the column is made of graphite.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein a surface of the column is coated with a coating layer made of graphite material or diamond.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plastic material is mixed with graphite material.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the graphite material is graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the graphite material is graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising steps of: g) sintering the metal particles after removing the solidified plastic material in the molded heat transfer component.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising steps of: h) sealing up the opening after injecting a working fluid into the vapor chamber.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the male mold is formed with multiple columns, and multiple vapor chambers are formed in the body by the columns.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step c), both the female mold and the male mold are slightly loosened when filling the plastic material, and then tightly close the female mold and the male mold when the plastic material has been filled into the space between the column and the inner surface of the cavity
 12. A molded heat transfer component having a vapor chamber, comprising: a body, made of metal in one piece, having a vapor chamber with an opening, and an inner wall of the vapor chamber being formed with a grooved wick structure with grooves which are perpendicular to the opening and parallel to each other by the ribs.
 13. The molded heat transfer component of claim 12, wherein a surface of the body is formed with fins, and the fins are parallel to each other and to the grooved wick structure.
 14. The molded heat transfer component of claim 12, wherein the opening is provided with a cap.
 15. The molded heat transfer component of claim 14, wherein the vapor chamber is injected with a working fluid.
 16. The molded heat transfer component of claim 12, wherein the body is embedded with distributed graphite material.
 17. The molded heat transfer component of claim 12, wherein a surface of the body is embedded with distributed graphite material.
 18. The molded heat transfer component of claim 16, wherein the graphite material is graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules.
 19. The molded heat transfer component of claim 17, wherein the graphite material is graphene particles or carbon nanocapsules.
 20. The molded heat transfer component of claim 12, wherein the body is formed with multiple vapor chambers, and each of the vapor chambers is of a tubular shape. 